The present invention is directed to disposable absorbent garments with raised exudate barriers, and to apparatus and method for producing such garments.
The manufacture of disposable absorbent garments, such as children""s diapers and training pants, is well known in the art. Although elasticized waist bands and elasticized leg openings exhibit enhanced containment of bodily exudates, they have not been entirely successful in eliminating leakage. For instance, when a wearer voids, exudate may be released too quickly for complete absorption by the garment, leading to wicking and overflow of exudate from the garment to clothing or bedding contacting the edge of the garment.
To address this problem, xe2x80x9cbarrier devicesxe2x80x9d such as target regions, inner leg gathers and end caps have been provided on the inner liner of some absorbent garments to better confine exudates.
Conventional xe2x80x9ctarget regionsxe2x80x9d are formed by layering a relatively impermeable liner sheet having a cut-out target region over a relatively absorbent material layer. Such target region construction helps to confine the absorption of exudates to a desired region of the garment. However, such target regions are not completely effective at containing rapidly exuded wastes.
Other conventional barrier devices forming raised barriers, such as some end caps and inner leg gathers, may be integrally formed by appropriately folding garment inner liner material to provide a raised barrier. Alternatively, such barriers may be constructed of elasticized flaps that are adhered onto garment inner liner material. End caps are usually disposed adjacent and parallel to the waist regions of a garment, and inner leg gathers are usually disposed lateral of the waist regions along the leg openings of a garment.
Conventional end cap and inner leg gather barrier devices provide improved management of exudates by containing, or at least slowing, the spread of exudates. Such containment permits the garment absorbent material to effectively absorb the exudates well away from the edges of the garment.
In spite of such advantages, conventional barrier devices are still somewhat less than satisfactory in terms of production expense and waste management effectiveness. For instance, the provision of end caps or inner leg gathers alone on garments does not offer complete containment of exudates. While the provision of both end caps and inner leg gathers on garments offers improved containment, the end caps and inner leg gathers are each formed separately on garments, which requires complex machinery which often cannot operate at desirable high production rates. Thus, the unit production cost of such garments tends to be high. Moreover, even if conventional end caps and inner leg gathers are both provided on garments, leakage can still occur between the gathers and the caps.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a garment with an improved barrier device, and to provide a machine and method for making such a garment.
One more object of the present invention is to provide a machine that applies an improved unitary inner leg gather and end cap to garment material at high working speeds.
In accordance with the present invention, a disposable absorbent garment is provided with a unitary raised end cap and inner leg gather barrier device. The disposable absorbent garment is provided with a backsheet, and a liner sheet overlying the backsheet. The backsheet and liner sheet are shaped to form a pair of spaced-apart leg openings, with a front waist area, a rear waist area, and a central crotch area. A pair of ribbons are disposed in opposing curved contours along front and rear areas of the garment to form a generally oval-shaped exudate containment region about the crotch area of the garment. Each ribbon is fastened to the garment along one longitudinal ribbon edge to form a xe2x80x9cfreexe2x80x9d ribbon edge which raises from the garment to provide a highly effective raised barrier.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a machine for applying ribbon to garment material is provided that includes a conveyor for carrying garment material. The conveyor moves in a direction along a flow path. Ribbon is provided for application to the garment material. A ribbon feeder having a first feeder head moves across the flow path to apply the ribbon to the material on the conveyor in a curved contour.
In another aspect of the invention, an adhesive applicator is provided which applies adhesive along one edge of the ribbon prior to application of the ribbon to the material in order that the ribbon is fastened to the material along the one ribbon edge. The resulting free edge of the ribbon may then form a raised barrier on the finished garment.
Also in accordance with the present invention, a method is provided for applying ribbon to garment material that includes the steps of providing garment material with opposing edges that represent waist regions of a finished garment, moving the material in one direction along a flow path, providing a source of ribbon, guiding the ribbon directly onto the material in a pattern moving laterally across said material relative to said flow direction such that the ribbon is applied to the material in a curved contour.